China’s 40 Million “Guabi” Young Women — Work 1 Day, Lie Flat 3, Surviving on Livestreams & Delivery

After live streaming all night, I made 40 yuan, which is 5 yuan more than what I earned a few days ago. Just now, after I finished picking up trash, I suddenly broke down and couldn't stop myself from crying. Today was my first day collecting trash. I've been unemployed for three months. I've been extremely anxious every day, constantly overthinking things, and lying awake night after night. I don't even understand how my life ended up like this. I'm so frustrated. I should have never gone to graduate school. I think I'm pretty smart, but every resume I send out gets rejected. I just can't understand why finding a job has become so difficult. Nothing I do seems to work out. Hi everyone, I'm Guan Yu. I just finished another job interview. Recently, I've been constantly going through interviews. What I've realized is that it's really, really hard. I know everyone is struggling. I've stayed very positive about finding a job. Even after facing so many setbacks, I still try my best to seize every opportunity, no matter how small. But so far, the offers I've received have been far from ideal. They're all temporary positions. For example, some are only maternity leave replacements that last a few months. After that, I'll be facing unemployment again and looking for another job. When I go to interviews and hear people tell me that I'm very talented, every time I hear those words, I feel like I'm about to cry. I've always worked hard to become someone who's relatively accomplished, but why am I still struggling so much when it comes to finding a job? Why can't I even find where I belong? This situation has lasted a long time. It's not just because I've been unemployed for a few months. People always say that after hitting rock bottom, things will eventually turn around, but I really don't know when that'll happen or whether things will ever get better. Everyone, it's basically impossible to find a job in Guangzhou. Since July and August until now, I've gone through around 10 interviews. Either they weren't serious with me or they tricked me into going there, only to talk for a few minutes and send me away. If you thought my resume wasn't suitable, why invite me for an in-person interview? I traveled all that way, went out under the scorching sun or in heavy rain, and after calling me over, you ask two questions or don't even ask anything. Just talk for five minutes and then tell me to leave. Why has the job market in Guangzhou become like this? I feel it's extremely disrespectful to candidates. This job market is honestly terrifying. I'm so tired. I don't want to work anymore. I don't want to go through another interview. I don't want to finish an interview and then spend every day going to work worried, wondering if I'll be laid off. Then after getting laid off, I have to keep searching for jobs and going to interviews over and over again. It's been four years since I graduated from college and I've already changed jobs three times. None of the jobs has lasted more than a year and a half. I feel like ever since graduation, I've been in a constant state of insecurity. Every time I start working somewhere and then it feels like the company is about to go bankrupt. I was supposed to go home for the National Day holiday, but now I don't even dare to go home. I don't even dare to tell my family that I've lost my job again. A blogger on Xiaohongshu described her emotional struggle when facing employment pressure and repeated setbacks. She says she was almost being driven to a breaking point. Finding a job is really too difficult. It's unbelievably difficult. In 25 days, I sent messages to 1,300 employers on Boss Zhiping. Only 146 asked me to submit my resume and I ended up getting around five interview invitations. I received only two job offers and I was unhappy with both of them. On MyMy, I also applied for more than 600 positions. I applied for jobs related to my major. I applied for jobs unrelated to my major. I even applied for some positions with annual salaries of 1 million yuan. I was honestly desperate. But who doesn't lose their mind during a job search? The longer the search takes, the more people start questioning themselves. You start wondering, is there something really wrong with me? Is it really much harder to find a job after being unemployed for six months? Do you really have fewer choices once you reach a certain age? When actually I'm not good enough? Then you keep denying yourself. The search becomes exhausting. Now, the moment I open my eyes every morning, I start applying for jobs. The whole process is incredibly draining. Some female college graduates have also been unable to find jobs and have turned to food delivery. However, the delivery market is also becoming saturated. What should I do? I haven't gotten a single order. I'm really starting to worry. Are you also doing crowdsource delivery? You don't have any orders either? No. Even those of us who got priority dispatches don't have any orders, let alone you guys. You don't have any orders either? I only managed to complete one order. How many miles did you travel? And how much did you make? A few yuan? A little over three yuan. Hey, excuse me. Where is the Ma Liu Ji delivery pickup point? There's a sunshine passage ahead. Can I go through there? Thank you, sir. Bye. He's really a nice guy. I really want to eat this chicken cutlet too. Who ordered it? I'm so hungry after finishing work. I should grab something to eat. I'll just eat outside. It's okay, right? Is every industry struggling now? I've seen so many delivery workers just rushing during the daytime. What should I do tomorrow during the day? To make ends meet, some people have turned to daily pay jobs. Waitressing, security work, food delivery. Over the past year, they've taken on almost every kind of temporary job available. In the end, they still can't find stable employment. Now, with October approaching and temperatures starting to drop, some can't even afford to rent a small place for shelter and have continued living outdoors. On the streets of Chinese cities, the shadow of unemployment has increasingly affected young people. College graduates, migrant workers, and other unemployed young people who once had dreams are gradually being pushed into desperate situations. Under bridges, on park benches, and in corners of 24-hour fast food restaurants, people can be seen curled up everywhere, using cardboard and worn-out clothes as bedding. These scenes aren't isolated. They've become a widespread reality across the country. Hello, everyone. This is the streets of Hongdian. Many, many vagrants live here. They choose to sleep here to save money on rent. It's still relatively early, and most of them haven't gotten up yet. The weather has been a little colder these past few days. I don't know how they are holding up sleeping here at night. Many of them had already lived here for more than 10 years, or even over 20 years. It's not that they refuse to work. They're young people who have been left behind by the system. They can't afford rent, can't find jobs, have no income, and are struggling just to survive. This situation is not happening by chance. In recent years, as the property market crisis, manufacturing relocation, shrinking consumer demand, tighter policies, and foreign investment withdrawals have all taken effect, China's economic structure has come under increasing pressure. For college graduates who can't find jobs after graduation, how desperate has life become? Can you believe it? A job planting potatoes receives 3,000 resumes in just two days. Recently, a graduate from the class of 2026 shared his job search experience. He said finding a job is getting harder and harder. Under the pressure of the job market, he no longer has the requirements for weekends off or location. He said, I don't want anything anymore. Just give me a job where I don't have to pay money out of my own pocket. The graduate said that even after continuously lowering their expectations and salary requirements, many people still can't even get a chance for an interview. Ultimately, in a country known as the world's largest manufacturing economy, too many young people are unable to find jobs and are left feeling uncertain and hopeless about the future. Data from China's Ministry of Education shows that the number of college graduates this year reached 12.7 million, an increase of 480,000 from last year, setting another record high. When combined with previous graduates who remain unemployed, the overall employment situation becomes even more challenging. A college student who has exhausted his savings tries to cut costs as much as possible. How far can someone really go when they choose to lie flat? 29-year-old Li Xu bought a secondhand tent for 400 yuan and moved into an abandoned parking lot. Every day, he spends only 10 yuan buying the cheapest meat and vegetables, and he eats just one meal a day. Living in a tent comes with many inconveniences. He relies entirely on two large capacity power banks for electricity. Each time they need charging, he has to go to a nearby public restroom and wait there for two hours until they're fully charged. Because he has no access to running water, he can only shower once a month and wash his clothes once a month. He does not use gas. The only fuel he uses every day is firewood. To cook his meals, he spends a lot of time collecting dry branches. The worst time was when he left halfway through charging his power bank in order to get chicken on sale. When he returned, he discovered that one of his power banks had been stolen. He lived this way for half a year and attracted thousands of online followers by documenting his life online. However, after spending too much time living this way, returning to normal society can become even more difficult. A new term called guabi youth has recently gone viral on Chinese social media platforms. They work one day, lie low for three days, and this has become the lifestyle of these young people. Unable to find stable jobs and income, they choose to stay in cheap daily rental rooms and rely on temporary jobs or part-time work to survive at a minimal level. The term guabi originated from online slang and refers to a group living on the margins of mainstream society. It literally means hanging on the wall. Unlike lying flat, which describes people who actively reject intense competition, guabi youth are more often pushed to the edge of society due to financial difficulties, personal crisis, or employment setbacks. They mock themselves, saying, we've become outsiders so we can only hang in the air unable to land. The South China Morning Post reported that 29-year-old Guo Zihao has a university degree in economics and business admin. However, after family problems and failed investments, he was left with only 20 yuan in his pocket and at his lowest point could only live in billiards halls. 24-year-old Man Man has no stable job. She spends most of her day lying in bed watching short videos because it's the cheapest way to live. Without a job, she survives on around 1,000 yuan a month by renting out a family apartment. Man Man often eats only one meal a day and has become so thin that the areas around both sides of her knees have deeply sunken. Her legs have developed injuries and bruises from pressing against the bed. When her entire body becomes sore, she gets up and goes outside, but only wanders aimlessly through the streets. 26-year-old Xiao Pi has spent the past two years putting on an act in front of his family, pretending to go to work. After leaving home, he mostly spends his time playing video games and chatting in online groups. He only wants a proper job that provides social insurance, a housing fund, and weekends off. But such jobs have been difficult to find. Eventually, he fell out of the normal career path, earning money through occasional part-time work and sometimes relying on financial help from his cousin and friends. He said, I really have tried my best, but the result isn't always what I want. 17-year-old Qiqi is among the Guobi youth. She still lives with her parents, but they stopped providing financial support long ago. She earns her own living expenses by taking online orders for handmade crafts. She says sometimes it's only 100 or 200 yuan a month, and at most it can reach 2,000 yuan. The Guobi group includes all kinds of members. Some enjoy exaggerated and elaborate fashion styles. Some struggle with depression. Some have very little income and barely survive, while others were originally children of the wealthy who never worried about food or clothing, but still chose not to work. Their common point is that they all use the term Guobi to describe and define themselves. On September 17, 2026, China's National Bureau of Statistics released data showing that in August, the unemployment rate among young people aged 16 to 24, excluding students, rose to 18.9 percent. It increased by one percentage point from July, marking two consecutive months of growth and reaching the highest level in a year. Before China changed its statistical method, the figure had exceeded 21 percent in 2023. According to the Bureau of Statistics, the large number of graduates entering the labor market was an important seasonal factor behind the rise in August's unemployment rate. Many observers believe the officially released unemployment figures are far lower than the actual situation. Why are the official figures considered unreliable? There are three main reasons. How unemployment is defined, the exclusion of rural residents from the statistics, and the questionable reporting of flexible employment among recent graduates. Put simply, if someone works for more than an hour a week, they're not counted as unemployed. If someone stays home relying on their parents, they're not counted as unemployed. If someone is preparing for civil service exams or graduate school entrance exams, they're also not counted as unemployed. So how difficult has it become for young Chinese to find jobs? At one point, more than 40 million people were searching for jobs online at the same time, causing the servers of Boss Juping to temporarily crash. Now even the traditional backup options of gig work, ride hailing, package delivery, and food delivery are approaching saturation and can no longer serve as a final safety net. China's younger generation grew up during the era of reform and opening up and generally did not experience the hardships their parents' generation faced. The political direction promoted under Xi Jinping's leadership has severely weakened their expectations for the future. This social environment has had a profound impact on young people. In recent years, terms such as lying flat, involution, not taking over the burden, and gua bi youth have become popular, reflecting growing pessimism in society. Such sentiments can spread quickly. On September 6th, Chinese commentator Liang Hongda said, why is it so concerning when the idea of lying flat is associated with young people? Because it gradually erodes people's confidence in the government's future credibility. There is now a popular term among young people called not taking over the burden. What does that mean? It means I'm not buying a house, not getting married, I'm not having children, I'm not starting businesses or investing in stocks, and I'm not paying into social security. You have an existing system, but I'm choosing not to participate. I'm done playing. If young people choose not to cooperate or even withdraw from the system, government finances could gradually dry up. He said that from this perspective, young people's choice to not take over the burden is like removing the fuel beneath the government's financial system. He described it as a particularly serious issue and said it could become a major challenge if the government faces fiscal difficulties in the future. President of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Liu Yuanchun, once warned in a joint report that China's youth unemployment problem could continue for another 10 years. He said the situation is likely to worsen in the short term and if not properly addressed, it could trigger broader social problems beyond the economy and potentially become a catalyst for political issues. After live streaming all night, I made 40 yuan, which is 5 yuan more than what I earned a few days ago. Just now, after I finished picking up trash, I suddenly broke down and couldn't stop myself from crying. Today was my first day collecting trash. I've been unemployed for three months. I've been extremely anxious every day, constantly overthinking things and lying awake night after night. I don't even understand how my life ended up like this. I'm so frustrated. I should have never gone to graduate school. I think I'm pretty smart, but every resume I send out gets rejected. I just can't understand why finding a job has become so difficult. Nothing I do seems to work out. Hi everyone, I'm Guan Yu. I just finished another job interview. Recently, I've been constantly going through interviews. What I've realized is that it's really, really hard. I know everyone is struggling. I've stayed very positive about finding a job. Even after facing so many setbacks, I still try my best to seize every opportunity, no matter how small. But so far, the offers I've received have been far from ideal. They're all temporary positions. For example, some are only maternity leave replacements that last a few months. After that, I'll be facing unemployment again and looking for another job. When I go to interviews and hear people tell me that I'm very talented, every time I hear those words, I feel like I'm about to cry. I've always worked hard to become someone who's relatively accomplished, but why am I still struggling so much when it comes to finding a job? Why can't I even find where I belong? This situation has lasted a long time. It's not just because I've been unemployed for a few months. People always say that after hitting rock bottom, things will eventually turn around, but I really don't know when that'll happen or whether things will ever get better. Everyone, it's basically impossible to find a job in Guangzhou. Since July and August until now, I've gone through around 10 interviews. Either they weren't serious with me or they tricked me into going there, only to talk for a few minutes and send me away. If you thought my resume wasn't suitable, why invite me for an in-person interview? I traveled all that way. Went out under the scorching sun or in heavy rain, and after calling me over, you ask two questions or don't even ask anything. Just talk for five minutes and then tell me to leave. Why has the job market in Guangzhou become like this? I feel it's extremely disrespectful to candidates. This job market is honestly terrifying. I'm so tired. I don't want to work anymore. I don't want to go through another interview. I don't want to finish an interview and then spend every day going to work worried, wondering if I'll be laid off. Then after getting laid off, I have to keep searching for jobs and going to interviews over and over again. It's been four years since I graduated from college and I've already changed jobs three times. None of the jobs has lasted more than a year and a half. I feel like ever since graduation, I've been in a constant state of insecurity. Every time I start working somewhere and then it feels like the company is about to go bankrupt. I was supposed to go home for the National Day holiday, but now I don't even dare to go home. I don't even dare to tell my family that I've lost my job again. A blogger on Xiaohongshu described her emotional struggle when facing employment pressure and repeated setbacks. She said she was almost being driven to a breaking point. Finding a job is really too difficult. It's unbelievably difficult. In 25 days, I sent messages to 1,300 employers on Boss Zhiping. Only 146 asked me to submit my resume and I ended up getting around five interview invitations. I received only two job offers and I was unhappy with both of them. On MyMy, I also applied for more than 600 positions. I applied for jobs related to my major. I applied for jobs unrelated to my major. I even applied for some positions with annual salaries of 1 million yuan. I was honestly desperate. But who doesn't lose their mind during a job search? The longer the search takes, the more people start questioning themselves. You start wondering, is there something really wrong with me? Is it really much harder to find a job after being unemployed for six months? Do you really have fewer choices once you reach a certain age? When actually I'm not good enough? Then you keep denying yourself. The search becomes exhausting. Now, the moment I open my eyes every morning, I start applying for jobs. The whole process is incredibly draining. Some female college graduates have also been unable to find jobs and have turned to food delivery. However, the delivery market is also becoming saturated. What should I do? I haven't gotten a single order. I'm really starting to worry. Are you also doing crowdsource delivery? You don't have any orders either? No, even those of us who got priority dispatches don't have any orders, let alone you guys. You don't have any orders either? I only managed to complete one order. How many miles did you travel? And how much did you make? A few yuan? A little over three yuan. Hey, excuse me, where is the Ma Liu Ji delivery pickup point? There's a Sunshine Passage ahead. Can I go through there? Thank you, sir. Bye. He's really a nice guy. I really want to eat this chicken cutlet too. Who ordered it? I'm so hungry after finishing work. I should grab something to eat. I'll just eat outside. It's okay, right? Is every industry struggling now? I've seen so many delivery workers just resting during the daytime. What should I do tomorrow during the day? To make ends meet, some people have turned to daily pay jobs, waitressing, security work, food delivery. Over the past year, they've taken on almost every kind of temporary job available. In the end, they still can't find stable employment. Now with October approaching and temperatures starting to drop, some can't even afford to rent a small place for shelter and have continued living outdoors. On the streets of Chinese cities, the shadow of unemployment has increasingly affected young people. College graduates, migrant workers, and other unemployed young people who once had dreams are gradually being pushed into desperate situations. Under bridges, on park benches, and in corners of 24-hour fast food restaurants, people can be seen curled up everywhere using cardboard and worn-out clothes as bedding. These scenes aren't isolated. They've become a widespread reality across the country. Hello, everyone. This is the streets of Hongdian. Many, many vagrants live here. They choose to sleep here to save money on rent. It's still relatively early and most of them haven't gotten up yet. The weather has been a little colder these past few days. I don't know how they are holding up sleeping here at night. Many of them had already lived here for more than 10 years or even over 20 years. It's not that they refuse to work. They're young people who have been left behind by the system. They can't afford rent, can't find jobs, have no income, and are struggling just to survive. This situation is not happening by chance. In recent years, as the property market crisis, manufacturing relocation, shrinking consumer demand, tighter policies, and foreign investment withdrawals have all taken effect, China's economic structure has come under increasing pressure. For college graduates who can't find jobs after graduation, how desperate has life become? Can you believe it? A job planting potatoes receives 3,000 resumes in just two days. Recently, a graduate from the class of 2026 shared his job search experience. He said, finding a job is getting harder and harder. Under the pressure of the job market, he no longer has the requirements for weekends off or location. He said, I don't want anything anymore. Just give me a job where I don't have to pay money out of my own pocket. The graduate said that even after continuously lowering their expectations and salary requirements, many people still can't even get a chance for an interview. Ultimately, in a country known as the world's largest manufacturing economy, too many young people are unable to find jobs and are left feeling uncertain and hopeless about the future. Data from China's Ministry of Education shows that the number of college graduates this year reached 12.7 million, an increase of 480,000 from last year, setting another record high. When combined with previous graduates who remain unemployed, the overall employment situation becomes even more challenging. A college student who has exhausted his savings tries to cut costs as much as possible. How far can someone really go when they choose to lie flat? 29-year-old Li Xu bought a second-hand tent for 400 yuan and moved into an abandoned parking lot. Every day, he spends only 10 yuan buying the cheapest meat and vegetables, and he eats just one meal a day. Living in a tent comes with many inconveniences. He relies entirely on two large-capacity power banks for electricity. Each time they need charging, he has to go to a nearby public restroom and wait there for two hours until they're fully charged. Because he has no access to running water, he can only shower once a month and wash his clothes once a month. He does not use gas. The only fuel he uses every day is firewood. To cook his meals, he spends a lot of time collecting dry branches. The worst time was when he left halfway through charging his power bank in order to get chicken on sale. When he returned, he discovered that one of his power banks had been stolen. He lived this way for half a year and attracted thousands of online followers by documenting his life online. However, after spending too much time living this way, returning to normal society can become even more difficult. A new term called guabi youth has recently gone viral on Chinese social media platforms. They work one day, lie low for three days, and this has become the lifestyle of these young people. Unable to find stable jobs and income, they choose to stay in cheap daily rental rooms and rely on temporary jobs or part-time work to survive at a minimal level. The term guabi originated from online slang and refers to a group living on the margins of mainstream society. It literally means hanging on the wall. Unlike lying flat, which describes people who actively reject intense competition, guabi youth are more often pushed to the edge of society due to financial difficulties, personal crisis, or employment setbacks. They mock themselves, saying we've become outsiders so we can only hang in the air unable to land. The South China Morning Post reported that 29-year-old Guo Zihao has a university degree in economics and business admin. However, after family problems and failed investments, he was left with only 20 yuan in his pocket and at his lowest point could only live in billiards halls. 24-year-old Man Man has no stable job. She spends most of her day lying in bed watching short videos because it's the cheapest way to live. Without a job, she survives on around 1,000 yuan a month by renting out a family apartment. Man Man often eats only one meal a day and has become so thin that the areas around both sides of her knees have deeply sunken. Her legs have developed injuries and bruises from pressing against the bed. When her entire body becomes sore, she gets up and goes outside but only wanders aimlessly through the streets. 26-year-old Xiao Pi has spent the past two years putting on an act in front of his family, pretending to go to work. After leaving home, he mostly spends his time playing video games and chatting in online groups. He only wants a proper job that provides social insurance, a housing fund, and weekends off. But such jobs have been difficult to find. Eventually, he fell out of the normal career path, earning money through occasional part-time work and sometimes relying on financial help from his cousin and friends. He said, I really have tried my best but the result isn't always what I want. 17-year-old Qi Qi is among the Guobi youth. She still lives with her parents, but they stopped providing financial support long ago. She earns her own living expenses by taking online orders for handmade crafts. She says sometimes it's only 100 or 200 yuan a month and at most, it can reach 2,000 yuan. The Guobi group includes all kinds of members. Some enjoy exaggerated and elaborate fashion styles. Some struggle with depression. Some have very little income and barely survive, while others were originally children of the wealthy who never worried about food or clothing but still chose not to work. Their common point is that they all use the term Guobi to describe and define themselves. On September 17, 2026, China's National Bureau of Statistics released data showing that in August, the unemployment rate among young people aged 16 to 24, excluding students, rose to 18.9 percent, an increase by one percentage point from July, marking two consecutive months of growth and reaching the highest level in a year. Before China changed its statistical method, the figure had exceeded 21 percent in 2023. According to the Bureau of Statistics, the large number of graduates entering the labor market was an important seasonal factor behind the rise in August's unemployment rate. Many observers believe the officially released unemployment figures are far lower than the actual situation. Why are the official figures considered unreliable? There are three main reasons. How unemployment is defined, the exclusion of rural residents from the statistics, and the questionable reporting of flexible employment among recent graduates. Put simply, if someone works for more than an hour a week, they're not counted as unemployed. If someone stays home relying on their parents, they're not counted as unemployed. If someone is preparing for civil service exams or graduate school entrance exams, they're also not counted as unemployed. So how difficult has it become for young Chinese to find jobs? At one point, more than 40 million people were searching for jobs online at the same time, causing the servers of Boss Juping to temporarily crash. Now, even the traditional backup options of gig work, ride hailing, package delivery, and food delivery are approaching saturation and can no longer serve as a final safety net. China's younger generation grew up during the era of reform and opening up and generally did not experience the hardships their parents' generation faced. The political direction promoted under Xi Jinping's leadership has severely weakened their expectations for the future. This social environment has had a profound impact on young people. In recent years, terms such as lying flat, involution, not taking over the burden, and gua bi youth have become popular, reflecting growing pessimism in society. Such sentiments can spread quickly. On September 6th, Chinese commentator Liang Hongda said, why is it so concerning when the idea of lying flat is associated with young people? Because it gradually erodes people's confidence in the government's future credibility. There is now a popular term among young people called not taking over the burden. What does that mean? It means I'm not buying a house, not getting married, I'm not having children, I'm not starting businesses or investing in stocks, and I'm not paying into social security. You have an existing system, but I'm choosing not to participate. I'm done playing. If young people choose not to cooperate or even withdraw from the system, government finances could gradually dry up. He said that from this perspective, young people's choice to not take over the burden is like removing the fuel beneath the government's financial system. He described it as a particularly serious issue and said it could become a major challenge if the government faces fiscal difficulties in the future. President of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics Liu Yuanchun once warned in a joint report that China's youth unemployment problem could continue for another 10 years. He said the situation is likely to worsen in the short term and if not properly addressed, it could trigger broader social problems beyond the economy and potentially become a catalyst for political issues.